Civil War troops will face off during annual re-enactment

DETAILS

Cost: $12 for adults; $11 for seniors (62 years and older); $6 for children younger than 12; free for children younger than 4 and active duty military with ID.

Parking: $2

Information: (760) 941-1791 or agsem.com/civilwar.html

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Cannon fire will signal the the start of the annual Spring Civil War Re-enactment at The Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum in Vista this weekend.

The 40-acre grounds will be transformed into a battlefield where an expected 300 uniformed combatants will re-enact the Civil War.

The event, presented by Gold Coast Festivals and the Visions In Time Foundation, will unite re-enactment groups from throughout California who will spend the weekend reliving one of the most fateful periods of American history.

“The museum hosts one of the largest and better re-enactments in the state,” said Dick Wixon, event organizer. “We get a lot of re-enactors from Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Ventura County and Arizona. There will be about 100 re-enactors from San Diego County.”

Wixon explained that while authentic battle tactics are used, there are not enough re-enactors to replicate the thousands who may have fought in a specific battle. Nevertheless, the performance is riveting, he said.

“I've actually seen people with tears in their eyes envisioning what it must have been like to line up and have rifles fired at you,” he said.

Joining the uniformed combatants will be 200 costumed civilians in living history encampments.

“There were a lot of women who followed their husbands,” Wixon said. “The battles were spaced apart in the spring and summer. In the winter, the men would stop fighting and return home.”

Wixon said some re-enactors will portray vendors who followed the battles peddling tobacco, clothes and guns.

Re-enactors portraying historical figures will be on hand to answer questions from visitors.

Escondido resident William Peck will reprise his role as Abraham Lincoln and deliver the Gettysburg Address.

“The more I have studied Lincoln, the more I want to know about him,” Peck said. “What a wonderful human being, and the greatest of our presidents.

“To have a student come up after a program and tell me that now he understands the Gettysburg Address and more about the Civil War is very humbling.”

Peck has appeared as Lincoln on the History Channel and in a number of movies. He was recently nominated “Lincoln of the Year” by the Association of Lincoln Presenters.

While his depiction may be convincing, he admits to not quite measuring up in stature to Lincoln, who was 6 feet, 3 inches tall.

“I was 6-1 when I started (in 1981) and have now lost an inch,” he said. “But I tell folks that they would be a lot shorter, too, if they were 200 years old.”

In addition to live cannon fire and period costumes, visitors can view historical memorabilia at the event.

“Sometimes you'll see authentic rifles and pistols that belonged to an ancestor,” Wixon said.

Battles will be at noon and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Artillery demonstrations will be at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. both days.

In addition, the museum will offer walking tours of its collection of antique equipment.